(Baonghean.vn) - Through their skillful hands, Thai women in Quy Chau (Nghe An) not only want to recreate the colors of life when weaving brocade, but also convey many stories with many different meanings and messages...
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| With the concept that "Girls must know how to make fabric, boys must know how to weave nets", Thai women approach brocade weaving very early.From the age of 6 or 7, I was introduced to cotton and yarn, and by the age of 14 or 15, I had become proficient at this work.The transmitters are none other than grandmothers and mothers... |
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| For them, brocade weavingNot only is it a standard for men to evaluate diligence and dexterity, and one of the criteria for getting married, but it is alsoa way for them to remember stories from ancient times, stories associated with the daily life of the Thai community, stories that are recreated nowhere else but through brocades. |
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| "Closing the hand to form a myriad of colors/Opening the hand to form a myriad of flowers" is a metaphor for the skillful hands of Thai women who have mastered the art of creating brocade patterns, or in other words, telling stories through patterns and motifs... |
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| The moon and sun motifs woven by Thai women are associated with a story: A family of two sisters went fishing in the stream one day and found a ripe fig. They split the fig in half to eat. The two sisters suddenly became pregnant, the older sister gave birth to a son, the younger sister gave birth to a daughter. Their parents were afraid of scandal, so they put the two children on two rafts to float down the river. At the end of the stream, a woman with few children picked them up and raised them. The girl grew up to be more and more beautiful, the boy grew up to be more and more handsome. The grandparents called the boy Tao Hun Lu, the girl Nang Ua Piem. When Tao and Nang grew up, their grandparents told them how they had picked them up. Tao and Nang immediately asked permission to go upstream to find their parents. The grandparents agreed. They traveled day after day, and along the way they developed feelings for each other. When they found their way back to their mother's house, they asked her to let them marry. Seeing that she could not stop their love, Her mother agreed and sent the young couple into the forest to find mushrooms and fish for the wedding. As soon as they reached the edge of the forest, the sky and earth darkened, thunder and lightning split the sky in two, separating the two people into two sides. Tao was shot to the East, turning into the Sun; She was shot to the West, turning into the Moon. Every month, Tao and She had to wait until the end of the month, when the sun rose, they could still see the moon setting late in the West, the two of them looked at each other from two sides of the horizon, only knowing how to cry, tears falling down to the earth as the last rain of the month. |
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| The pattern of the rhombus, a fruit that usually ripens in August, is used by Thai women to commemorate the food that saved them during the famine years of the past. There are many variations of the rhombus pattern, but most of them have concentric rhombus motifs and are dotted with smaller patterns in the middle. Therefore, from a simple natural fruit, Thai ethnic hand-weavers have transformed it into a unique pattern that demonstrates the dexterity of the hands and the imagination of the mind. |
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| Eight-petaled flower (booc san), this flower shape is modeled after a previous story. The story goes that, long ago, there was a Thai man who went into the forest to reclaim land. He kept going deeper into the forest until he got lost, with nothing to eat. He was exhausted and hungry, so he sat leaning against the base of a san tree. Suddenly, a san fruit fell, he picked it up and ate it, thanks to that he regained his strength. To remember the fruit that saved their ancestors from the beginning of land reclamation, the Thai people weave booc san into their fabrics. |
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| Symmetrical dragon pattern (reverse wave). The image of a pair of dragons symmetrical but still connected to each other is often associated by Thai people with the love between husband and wife. Therefore, Thai people weave symmetrical dragon patterns to express their desire for a happy family life. |
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| The elephant is the largest animal in the forest, has extraordinary strength, lives in herds showing solidarity and mutual support. In the past, elephants also helped Thai people carry goods through mountains, forests, rivers and streams. Therefore, Thai people weave elephant patterns to express their love for this animal, and also to praise the loyalty and community of elephants. |
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A common pattern in Thai brocade, both embroidered and woven, is the image of a deer. According to Thai beliefs, this is an animal that symbolizes freedom and loyalty. There is a story about a poor boy who took care of a deer, protecting it from an evil butcher. The boy and the deer became close friends. When he grew up, the boy was taken to the city to study, not having time to say goodbye to the deer. The deer grew up to become the leader of the herd, proud of its large, beautiful horns. One day, it ate some salt that the foresters had dropped and remembered the taste of the salty rice balls that the boy had brought to feed it. The deer returned to the cave where the boy had hidden it when he was a child and waited for its childhood friend. The boy was now successful and had a family. One day, he returned to his hometown and missed the deer so he went to the cave to look for the deer but could not find it. He only saw a tree with a trunk like a deer's horn, leaves like deer's ears, and pure white flowers that were fragrant... |
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There are many more stories told from the brocade patterns woven by the skillful hands of Thai women from generation to generation. It is also a way for Thai people to preserve their own treasure trove of stories. |
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And above all, preserving the traditional craft of our people - brocade weaving. In addition to contributing to improving income and raising living standards, it also preserves and promotes, contributing to creating a unique cultural identity, with its own color no matter where it appears... |
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Not only in the village community but also on big stages, the brocade costumes of the Thai people with their delicate and mysterious patterns and motifs are always the highlight and the honored image. |
Quang An - Ke Kien
